Suspender for thin objects



March 25,1969 YOSH|ZABURQ.AQ| 3,434,686

SUSPENDER FOR THIN OBJECTS Filed April 25, 1967 United States Patent3,434,686 SUSPENDER FOR THIN OBJECTS Yoshizaburo Aoi, 509-3 Hata-machi,Ilreda, Osaka, Japan Filed Apr. 25, 1967, Ser. No. 633,626 Claimspriority, application Japan, July 19, 1966, 41/ 68,465 Int. Cl. A47f /00US. Cl. 248-616 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This inventionrelates to a device for suspending thin objects of paper, wood, metal,plastic or other substance from a wall or pillar by means of thepress-contacting of a roller member against the perpendicular plane ofthe wall or pillar, and more particularly, has for an object theprovision of a novel means for performing such function without usingany set pin, nail, binding agent or conventional spring-loaded clipmeans such as a paper clip.

The principal advantage of this invention is that the present suspenderdevice permits any thin object to be suspended automatically and firmlyfrom the wall or pillar by the simple action of the insertion of suchobject from below and another advantage is to enable the suspendedobject to be easily withdrawn therefrom.

Summary A suspender device for thin objects including a perpendicularbase plate, a subsidiary angular plate having its base end secured tothe base plate and its perpendicular portion angularly bent to form atriangular space which tapers gradually downward between itself and theperpendicular surface of the base plate, a sliding frame having bentportions on both sides disposed so as to slidably embrace theperpendicular portion of the subsidiary plate whereby the frame mayslide up and down freely, a roller rotatably supported axiswise in bothbent portions for clamping engagement with an object to be suspended andat least one of the bent portions being extended downwardly to form anextension for releasing the roller by sidewise pull on the suspendedobject.

The nature and further advantages of the present invention will be moreclearly understood from the following description in connection with theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a suspender deviceaccording to the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the suspender device illustrated inFIG. 1,-showing the device in actual working position,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of the suspenderdevice,

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the suspender illustrated in FIG.3, showing the device in actual working position, and

3,434,686 Patented Mar. 25, 1969 FIG. 5 represents a side elevationalview of yet another embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, 1 denotes a base or first plate definedby a smooth-faced flat body, which is rigidly secured to the surface ofa wall or pillar by a suitable setting means. The upper end of the baseplate 1 is bent over to form an angular hook 1", depending on the natureof mounting desired. In case the base plate 1 is not provided with ahook, it is fixed onto the wall or pillar by means of a nail or abinding agent.

Provided on the outer surface of the base or second plate 1 is asubsidiary plate 2 having its base end rigidly secured to the upper partof the base plate 1 and its lower end spaced slightly from the baseplate 1. The subsidiary plate 2 is so bent at both of its ends as toprovide an inverse triangular space which tapers downward graduallybetween the plates.

Mounted over a perpendicular portion 2' from the outside is a U-shapedsliding frame 3 which carries a roller member 4 mounted rotatably inbent portions or legs 3', 3' by means of an axis pin 5. The rollermember 4 and the sliding frame 3, operably linked into one body, are soarranged as to slide up and down freely on the perpendicular portion 2'of the subsidiary plate 2.

Either or both of the bent portions 3, 3 of the sliding frame 3 may beextended downwardly to be formed into a perpendicular extension 3 forreleasing the roller member 4. The provision of the extension 2 makes itextremely easy and convenient, as described hereinafter, to withdraw thesuspended object from the suspender device by hand.

The suspender device in the above described embodiment is used with itsbase plate 1 fixed to the surface A of a wall or a pillar as desired. Incase the hook 1" is formed on the upper end of the base plate 1, themounting is effected by engaging the hook 1', but if the hook is absent,it is effected by either nailing the base plate 1 to the wall or pillarsurface A or fixing it thereto with a suitable binding agent. The roller4 in the suspender device thus fixed is always dropped, together withthe sliding frame 3, to the lowest position of the triangular spacewhere it is stopped.

Thus, in order to suspend a thin object B by the present suspenderdevice which is thus fixed to the surface of a wall or a pillar, the topedge of the thin object is inserted into the suspender from below insuch a manner as to slide on the surface of the base plate 1. Then, theupper edge of the thin object causes the roller 4 which is in pointcontact with the surface of the base plate 1 to turn slightly and moveupward and by so doing, advances into the point of contact and thenpasses therethrough to assume a position above the roller 4. When theupper edge of the thin object B is freed, the roller, which is alwaysinclined to drop by its natural force, grips the upper part of the thinobject between the base plate 1 and itself at their contact point,whereupon the thin object B is suspended. Since the force of clipping bymeans of the roller is increased in proportion to the strength ofpulling down the object, the suspension of any thin object is safe andfirm.

When detaching the suspended object B from the suspender device, thesliding frame 3 is pressed slightly upwardly by hand, thereby pressingup the roller 4. This results in a space being provided between theroller 4 and the base plate 1 and the object B is released. fromgripping, thus enabling the object to be pulled downwardly. If, as inthe devices illustrated in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, the lower end of the bentportions or legs 3' of the sliding frame 3 is extended to form aperpendicular extension 3", the withdrawal operation is even simplersince the manual pressing up of the sliding frame 3 is unnecessary. Inthis case, when the lower edge of the suspended object B is drawnforwardly, that is, pulled away from the base plate 1 as shown in FIG.4, the object B is naturally bent forwardly to cause the perpendicularextension 3" to slide upwardly from below and its position at the timewhen the upwardly sliding motion is started is shown by the dot-dashlines in FIG. 4. Then, the roller 4 moves upwardly releasing itself fromthe point-contact with the base plate 1 in precisely the same manner asin the case of a manual pressing up of the sliding frame 3. In otherwords, when the perpendicular extension 3" is provided, it is possibleto withdraw the object B by the single action of pulling it forwardly,which is quite convenient.

The suspender device in accordance with the present invention wasdesigned with the object of suspending a light, thin object such as asheet of bulletin paper or other printed paper, but, if the device ismade more robust, it is possible to suspend heavier objects such asmetal plates.

Having thus described the nature of the present invention, what I claimherein is:

1. A suspender device for thin objects, comprising a perpendicular baseplate, a subsidiary angular plate member having a base end rigidlysecured to said base plate and a perpendicular portion angularly bent toform a triangular space between itself and the perpendicular surface ofthe base plate, said triangular space tapering gradually downward, asliding frame having bent portions on both sides disposed in such manneras to slidably embrace the perpendicular portion of said subsidiaryplate so that the frame may slide up and down freely, a roller meansrotatably supported axiswise in both bent portions of said sliding framefor clamping engagement with an object to be suspended, and at least oneof said bent portions of said sliding frame being extended downwardly toform an extension for releasing said roller means by sidewise pull onthe suspended object.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,312,926 8/1919 Sherman 294l032,518,563 8/1950 Myers 24244- XR 2,549,200 4/1951 Hooks 2466 JOHN PETO,Primary Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 24 244; 211-45

